I have been wanting to travel to Socotra, Yemen to see the dragonblood trees and bizarrely beautiful landscapes for a while now, but given the current instability in the rest of Yemen, is it advisable? Are Socotrans heavily involved in the current goings on or are they somewhat isolated from it? If so, are there ways of getting to Socotra which bypass the more dangerous parts of Yemen?

There is a high risk of piracy in the coastal areas of Yemen. There have been attacks by pirates against all forms of shipping in and around Yemen’s waters and the Gulf of Aden. Pirates have been using motherships to attack shipping further than 1,000 nautical miles (1,850km) from the coast of Somalia.

All forms of shipping are attractive targets for Somali pirates, including commercial vessels, pleasure craft (yachts etc) and luxury cruise liners... maintain a high level of vigilance and to exercise extreme caution when anywhere near these waters.

According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC), there were 217 attempted attacks of piracy with 47 vessels hijacked and 867 crewmembers taken hostage in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia in 2009.